FIA European Touring Car Championship - 2004 Champion Andy Priaulx

Dubai, 8th October, 2004. The Dubai Autodrome was the perfect setting for BMW
Team Great Britain's Andy Priaulx (GBR) to claim the 2004 FIA ETCC title. The
battle for the crown was a hard one, but clinching it in the very final race
helped banish the disappointment of last season when Andy was in touching
distance of the crown, eventually finishing third.

Andy has won five races this year in Magny Cours, Hockenheim, Brno, Donington
and Oschersleben and claimed one race one pole and six fastest laps. The races
have been action packed and in some cases he has been an unfortunate casualty
of some fierce battles, but he still managed to score points in all but three
of the 20 races. He went into the last race meeting with nothing to lose with
a difficult task ahead of him as he was second in the series, 12 points behind
Dirk Müller. He knew his job was going to be difficult, but also that Dirk was
carrying the maximum of 40 kilos of ballast and he was only carrying 20 kilos.

Andy started his career in karting in the Channel Islands as he was born on the
small island of Guernsey. This was in1984 when he was 11-years-old. He then
spent six years on two wheels in motorcross, which culminated in him winning
the 250cc CI Championship in 1990. He then decided to follow in his father's
footsteps and started hill climbing. On his way to the British hill climb
championship title in 1995 he scored the maximum points possible. It was in
1996 that he turned to single seater racing in both Formula Renault and Formula
3 and then in 1998 he won the Renault Spider Championship with thirteen wins
from 13 poles - a feat that has never been equalled. Andy's Formula 3 career
then continued until he turned to touring cars in 2001 when he was invited to
drive for Vauxhall in the UK.

His touring car career really took off in 2002 in the British Touring Car
Championship where he scored Honda's debut win. His BMW career started in 2003
when he was offered the FIA ETCC drive for BMW Team Great Britain, and he
impressed everyone by winning three races in his first year and fighting for
the championship to the very last race. In 2004 Andy had his first drive for
BMW Motorsport in the Spa 24 Hours and when not busy in the driving seat he was
busy giving education and training to young drivers in his role as Chief
Instructor for the Formula BMW UK Championship.

Andy's car is run by the Belgium RBM team, which stands for Racing Bart
Mampaey. Bart Mampaey set up the team in 1994 and ran a car in the FIA ETCC for
the first time in 2002 for BMW Team Belgium, however, his motorsport history
goes back to the days when his father, Julian, ran the successful Juma racing
team in the 70s and 80s. The team ran BMW cars in the European Touring Car
Championship and won the Spa 24 Hours three times. Bart, like Andy, is also
following in his father's footsteps as his team won the Spa 24 Hours in 1998
and has now added this title to its tally. Bart still has very close ties to
BMW in Belgium as his company prepares all the engines for their very
successful MINI Challenge.

Date/place of birth: 8th August 1974/Guernsey (CI)
Place of residence: Guernsey (CI)
Marital status: married to Joanne; son Sebastian; daughter Danniella
Website: www.andypriaulx.com

1984: competed in karting in Channel Islands

1985-1990: competed in motocross

1990: 1st place Motocross 250 cc CI Championship

1991-1995: Hillclimb championships

1995: RAC MSA British Hillclimb Champion with maximum points score and 14 round
wins over two seasons

1996: Formula Renault

1997: British Formula 3 Championship scholarship

1998: Renault Spider Cup, one pole position, three podiums; 2nd in Formula
Palmer Audi Winter series

1999: Champion Renault Spider Cup, 13 wins from pole; BTCC test drives for
Renault Williams, Vauxhall, Ford

2000: British Formula 3 Championship for Renault UK,
three podiums, one pole; F3 in Macau and Korea

2001: British Formula 3 Championship, two wins, two pole positions and ten
podiums; finished 2nd from pole in F3 Super Prix in Korea; invitational drive
for Vauxhall BTCC, qualified on pole for both races and finished 2nd

2002: 5th place BTCC, one win, three pole positions; competed in Australia in
the Bathurst 1000 and Queensland 500 endurance races (Holden TWR)

2003: 3rd place FIA ETCC in BMW 320i, three wins

2004: 1st place FIA ETCC (BMW 320i), BMW Team Great Britain
24 Hour race Spa-Francorchamps, (BMW M3 GTR)

Interview with BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen.

Winning the ETCC Manufacturers' and Drivers' title - what does this success
signify for BMW?

Mario Theissen: These international titles are of immense importance for BMW.
The BMW national teams have fought hard throughout the season of 20 races in
eight countries and, through their combined efforts, managed to secure the
Manufacturers' title for BMW with three races to go. We set ourselves high
targets for the season and we have met them. We wanted to defend the
Manufacturers' Championship title with the BMW 320i as well as winning the
Drivers' Championship. Furthermore, Tom Coronel has once again taken the FIA
ETCC Independents Trophy for private entrants. Things couldn't have turned out
better.

How does touring car racing rate within BMW's portfolio of motor racing
involvement?

Mario Theissen: Very highly. BMW without touring car racing would be
unthinkable, likewise touring car racing without BMW. There's no other
discipline in which BMW boasts so many outstanding successes. Among them -
counting the two latest titles - are a total of 20 European Championships and
victory in the only FIA Touring Car World Championship held to date. That was
in 1987 when the title was claimed by Roberto Ravaglia, who now runs one of the
national teams in the FIA ETCC. In 2004, BMW Motorsport not only fielded the
320i successfully in races; with the BMW M3 GTR we also claimed our 17th
overall win in the Nürburgring 24 Hour Race and even managed a one-two finish.
Then shortly afterwards, we took a class win in the Spa 24 Hours. Schnitzer
Motorsport and Dirk Müller and Jörg Müller handled the "double whammy" of the
ETCC and the endurance marathon with bravura.

How do you assess the development of the FIA ETCC?

Mario Theissen: Positive overall. We have seen a lot of exciting races. On
some occasions things were tougher than I would have liked, but there has
clearly been a positive development compared with 2003. Most of the 2004
manoeuvres were hard-hitting but heartfelt. The response of the spectators
unfortunately does not reflect the quality of the races, but there's room for
development there. The involvement of further manufacturers will help. Apart
from Alfa Romeo, BMW and SEAT, two or three more manufacturers are expected to
compete in 2005. Also, high-profile driver names on the grid are a boost to the
event, whereby the enthusiastic response triggered by Alessandro Zanardi's
comeback deserves a special mention. Furthermore, the series will receive FIA
World Championship sanctioning next year. That will further bolster the ETCC
and significantly raise its status since it will become the third
FIA-sanctioned World Championship series worldwide next to Formula One and the
Rally World Championship.

How will BMW Motorsport handle its involvement in the new World Championship?

Mario Theissen: In principle, exactly as we have done in the European
Championship. A very significant plus for BMW is the fact that we can compete
in this series worldwide with a car developed in Munich and then sold as a
sports kit to well-known customer teams around the world. BMW Motorsport will
continue to offer appropriate support for this. There are no plans for an
official BMW works involvement as this would go against the concept behind the
Super2000 regulations, which promote affordable touring car racing. The
regulations allow for manageable technology and calculable budgets for an
involvement in interesting markets.

What was the key to success in 2004?

Mario Theissen: In motor sport it's always down to a combination of several
factors. Certainly technical advances were a fundamental factor in overcoming
the strong competition from Alfa Romeo as well as SEAT towards the end of the
season. Equally crucial was the sterling work delivered by the national teams
and the drivers, above all Andy Priaulx.

You are usually on tour with Formula One. Did you find time to follow the FIA
ETCC?

Mario Theissen: You bet. I either watch the TV broadcasts or else I'm there at
the track. That isn't just a case of carrying out my professional duty - these
races are very exciting and provide extremely high entertainment value.
BMW touring car successes.

When it comes to international touring car racing, BMW can look back on a host
of major successes. In terms of FIA-sanctioned touring car championships alone,
the tally in 2004 is 24, including Manufacturers' and Drivers' titles. Hubert
Hahne and his BMW 1800TI launched this string of successes back in 1966.
Arguably the name most frequently associated with BMW's triumphs in
international touring car racing is that of Roberto Ravaglia. In 1987, during
the heyday of the sport, the Italian driver won the only Touring Car World
Championship to be staged to date. He also took the European Championship title
twice, most recently in 1988.
In 1994 and 1997, BMW won the FIA Touring Car World Cup, and in 1997
additionally took the FIA Asia Pacific Championship title. In 2001, the FIA
gave its sanction to the European Championship once again after an interval of
13 years. BMW followed its revival with keen interest and has made a
significant impact on the series.

Peter Kox (NLD) immediately claimed the 21st European Championship title for
BMW in 2001, driving a BMW 320i fielded by Ravaglia Motorsport. Kox had claimed
three race wins in 2001, the same number as his compatriot and fellow
BMW-driver Duncan Huisman. Wins seven and eight for BMW went to Norman Simon
(GER) and Gianni Morbidelli (ITA) in year one of the ETCC.

In the 2002 season, Jörg Müller (four first places) and Dirk Müller (three)
shared BMW's wins driving for BMW Team Deutschland and came second and fourth
as the best-placed BMW representatives in the championship. Tom Coronel
(NLD/BMW Team Great Britain) was the first to claim pole in a BMW 320i in the
2002 season.

The 2003 FIA ETCC was a head-to-head contest over 20 races between BMW and Alfa
Romeo. Both marques claimed ten wins each, and in the end both went home with a
title: BMW won the Manufacturers' Championship while the European Drivers'
Championship title went to Italy. Both titles were decided at the final in
Monza in races that were eventful and controversial in terms of sporting
fairness. Jörg Müller achieved most wins for BMW (five), while Andy Priaulx won
three races and Dirk Müller two.

In the 2003 season, Duncan Huisman (NLD) in a BMW 320i fielded by Team Carly
Motors claimed the Independents Trophy for private entrants.

In 2004 the BMW national teams managed to defend the Manufacturers' title as
well as clinching the Drivers' title that had narrowly eluded them the previous
year. Tom Coronel additionally won the Independents Trophy.

Press Contacts:
Heike Bartsch, BMW Corporate Affairs, Motorsport, mobile +49 (0)172 8485998,
office phone: +49 (0)89 382 33115, email: heike.bartsch@bmw.de

Ann Bradshaw, race press officer, mobile +44 (0) 7713 317006,
annbradshaw@tiscali.co.uk